MANIMANGALAMSRI DHARMESWARAR TEMPLE , KANCHIPURAM DISTRICT-TAMILNADU
Introduction Manimangalam village is located about 10 Kms from Tambaram onthe western side of Mudichur Road leading towards Padappai. This village has a veryhigh historic importance because of the huge battle fought here betweenNarasimhavarma Pallava and the Chalukya King Pulikesi II. This battle wasfought in Manimangalam during 7th Century AD. Manimangalam has an ancient temple for Lord Shiva called SriDharmeswarar. The Goddess here is Sri Vedhaambigai. According to theinscriptions, this temple is said to have got constructed by Chozhas. Thistemple has mentions in the inscriptions as Grama Sikhamani ChathurvedhiMangalam. In ancient days, the lands along with temple were donated bythe kings to the Vedic scholars for performing Vedic rituals for the well-beingof the country. Such villages were called as Chathurvedhi Mangalams. Architecture anddeities The temple is built on a very vast space amidst greenishpaddy fields. A beautiful Peepul tree welcomes you as you enter the gates ofthe temple. This temple ismaintained by Archaeological Society of India and protected property.The looks and the structure itself show the antiquity of the temple. Since this is an Archaeological Society of India (ASI)maintains the temple and the templelooks like other ASI maintained temples,this is also nicely fenced and landscaped About the temple The Temple consists of Sanctum sanctorum, antarala,ardhamandapam, and maha mandapam on a raised upanam and pada bandha adhistanam.From upanam to prastaram, the temple is constructed with stone. There is a small Mandapam outside the sanctum. Sri Vinayagar and Sri Subramanyarare seen on either sides of the entrance of the sanctum. The main deity, SriDharmeswarar is seen facing east. One can feel the divinity in this calm andcool ambience with the view of the Lord in natural light and the light from thetemple lamps. There is small granite Nandhi facing the Lord in the sanctum, from this Mandapam.If we knock it , it willproduce bronze metal sound. There’s another small gated portion facing south, which isempty. There had been a beautiful Sri Natarajar here in ancient days and somemiscreants had stolen the deity. While local people chased them, it is said that the miscreants had thrown Sri Natarajar inthe nearby pond and ran off, in which Sri Natarajar’s idol was damaged. In the inner praakaaram, Sri Vinayagar is found at the Southwestern corner, under a tree in good shadow. Along the walls of the praakaaram, Sri Vinayagar and SriDhakshinamurthy are seen facing South. Lord Sri Mahavishnu isfacing the west from the walls of the praakaaram. Lord Sri Brahma, Sri Sandigeswarar and Sri Durgai are seen onthe Northern side of the praakaaram. A window, beautifully carved with 12openings is found on the eastern side wall of the praakaaram.The Vimaanam isbuilt of Gajabrishta shape. The whole temple is built on stone with wonderfularchitecture. Even the steps to reach the Mandapam outside the sanctum is donebeautifully, but damaged in few places. There are many dilapidated idols of Parivaara moorthies andShiva Lingam kept safely in the inner praakaaram. One can notice many inscriptions along the walls of thetemple. There is a Bali Peetam and another big Nandhi found at theouter praakaaram facing the sanctum. There is a wall obstructing Nandhi fromviewing the sanctum, but for a small opening in it. There is a separate shrine for Goddess Vedhaambigai at theouter praakaaram, facing south. Goddess is beautifully dressed and is so gracefully in blessing posturelike a Mother blessing her children. The temple pond is found adjacent to the temple, without anysteps or bathing Ghats to it. In the outer prakaram sannadhi or Vinayagar, Bhairavar andSaneeswarar. In the mandapam sannidhi for Chandran, Suryan, Vinayagar, SriValli Devasena Subramaniar and Navagrahas. Some Hero stones are also installed insidethe temple. A separate post was written on these Hero Stones. Festivals Festivals like Maha Shivarathri, Pradhosham, and KarthigaiDheepam are celebrated well in this temple, with much effort of the priests.People from various parts of the city visit this temple very often butunfortunately, not the local villagers. Another rarity of Manimangalam is one can find many Vinayagar temples in this village, be it small or big.And all the Vinayagars have elephant as their Vaahana (Carrier) and not theMooshikha (mouse). Some of the importantfeatures of this temple are ... Moolavar : SriDharmeswara Swamy Consort : SriVedhambika Devi. The temple is facing east with a sanctum and mandapam and isconstructed like a mada koil. At the entrance, Ganapathy and Subramaniyar arefacing each other. Thereis no Rajagopuram, Dwajasthambam, Balipeedam, or Rishabam originally. The Rishabam and Balipeedam are erected in the outer at avery latter state in front of the Ambal temple. In koshtam Vinayagar, Dakshinamurthy, Vishnu, Brahma andDurgai. Chandikeswararlooks cute with Jadamudi without mazhu in hand, and the posture is a littledifferent from other Chandikeswaras. Moolavar is a little tall on a square avudayar. Ambal is in a separate sannadhi without Gopuram. Looks like achildish face. It isbelieved that Ambal is very powerful. Asper Gurukkal, a girl has her speech after worshipping the Ambal of this temple. HISTORY &INSCRIPTIONS Chozhas, Pandyas and Vijayanagars had contributed for theconstruction of this temple. The main shrine was constructed by Chozhas withGajaprista vimanam and front mandapam was built by Vijayanagaras and AmbalSannidhi was built by Pandyas. During the Chozha Period,this place was called Chaturvedi Mangalam, where 4 Vedas were taught. Temple timings The Manimangalam Dharmeswarar Temple generally operates withtwo main sessions: morning hours, often from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM, and evening hours, typically from 5:00PM to 7:00 PM or later, with some sources suggesting it stays openuntil 9:00 PM. Brahmin priests perform pooja. Address: Dharmeswara Shivan temple, near shimanthurai vinayagartemple, Pushpagiri, Manimangalam, Tamil Nadu 601301 Phone: 085084 99514 Administration Manimangalam Dharmeswarar Temple is an ancient Chola-era templemaintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), ensuring its upkeep andprotection, with dailyrituals overseen by Brahmin priests, and its administration involveslocal hereditary trustees and ASI oversight, providing a peaceful worshipexperience with specific opening hours. Hereditary Trustees: The temple has hereditary trustees,often from the Vellalar community, who manage its affairs alongside ASI. Compiled from websitesand posted by- R.Gopalakrishnan Dated 19-01-2026. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1248945508.1003856.1768827249388%40mail.yahoo.com.
